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Juliana, Lawyer

Category: Criminal Law

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Experience: Former prosecutor with 4 years of experience, criminal justice degree

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i was arrested in atlantic city new jersey the violaton is

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i was arrested in atlantic city new jersey the violaton is 2c:12-1a[1] its for i was pushed by a security guard at a club i punched the security guard and was arrested i live far from here so i was seeing if i can just plead guilty and have nothing on my record whats the worst i can get charged

Thanks for using Just Answer. Here is the text of the section of the New Jersey Code of CriminalJustice under which you were charged:

2C:12-1 Assault.

a. Simple assault. A person is guilty of assault if he: (1) Attempts to cause or purposely, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another; or (2) Negligently causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon; or (3) Attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. Simple assault is a disorderly persons offense unless committed in a fight or scuffle entered into by mutual consent, in which case it is a petty disorderly persons offense.

I'm not sure if you were charged with a disorderly persons or a petty disorderly persons offense, but I will give you the penalty for both, under New Jersey law.

For a disorderly persons offense, the maximum jail sentence is 6 months, and the maximum fine is $1,000. For a petty disorderly persons offense, the maximum jail sentence is 30 days, and the maximum fine is $500. Also, a defendant is required to pay additional costs upon being convicted of or pleading guilty to either type of charge. These costs include $33 court costs, $50 for the Victims of Crime Compensation Board, and $75 for the Safe Neighborhoods Services Fund.

If you plead guilty to either type of offense, it will be reported as a conviction on your criminal record. Once a conviction gets on your record, it can often be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming to remove. Therefore, you may want to consult with a New Jersey attorney who practices criminal law in order to explore your options before you simply go in an plead guilty.

In my experience as a prosecutor, it is difficult for an unrepresented person to enter into a plea agreement. I'm not saying it is impossible, but, it is difficult. Also, since disorderly persons offenses are the lowest category of offenses under New Jersey law, there would be nothing to reduce them to via a plea agreement. The charges would either have to be dismissed outright, or the defendant would have to be acquitted at trial. It might be possible to convince the prosecutor to agree to a lesser penalty, such as fines and costs only, as opposed to jail time.

Also, although disorderly persons offenses are technically not "crimes" under New Jersey law, a conviction will result in a criminal record that is not eligible for expungement until after 5 years have passed.

Well, you can always contact the prosecutor's office (also called DA) that will be handling your charge, to ask if you can work out an agreement with respect to penalty. The decision will be up to him/her, but, it doesn't hurt to ask.

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